The mission of the Office of Equity & Diversity (E&D) is to integrate equity, diversity and inclusion into all aspects of Minneapolis Public Schools' (MPS) mission and culture in order to provide the best quality education to our diverse student body while fostering lasting relationships with families and the community.

Our vision is to maximize and leverage equity, diversity and inclusion to create welcoming, engaging and productive learning environments for staff, students, families and community.

COMMITMENT TO EQUITY:

MPS will be an equitable district in all its parts; we believe that all students deserve optimal treatment, opportunities and education, that all students and their families have dignity and worth, and that all students are equally, while differently, gifted. Our academic and participation outcomes, not intentions, will be the measure of whether we are successful.

Equity is ensuring that opportunities, resources, services, etc. are distributed to students based on individual needs. Students must be supported in ways that maximize individual potential. Equity is not sharing opportunities, resources, services, etc. equally between all students; equity and equality are not the same thing.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY:

Diversity is one of our core values and is essential to our goal of putting children first and making them college-ready by 2012. MPS is comprised of a unique blend of people, who come from different heritages and experiences, with a wide range of cultures, perspectives and talents. We integrate diversity into all aspects of our mission and culture in order to provide the best quality education to our students and foster lasting relationships with families and the community. Diversity, Equity and Respect are keys to ensuring that all students learn and become college-ready. Diversity of our workforce provides us with a competitive advantage and allows us to better understand, communicate with and educate our diverse student body.

The commitment to Inclusion is essential to creating and maintaining a diverse environment at MPS. An inclusive environment leverages diversity and creates an environment where students, families, community members and MPS employees feel welcomed, valued, supported, listened to, and able to do their personal best. Inclusion supports Minneapolis Public Schools' core values and is essential to our goal of putting children first. Inclusion will increase student engagement, retention and performance by acknowledging that all children can learn and that all children may learn differently in an inclusive environment.

"We must have an unconditional commitment to try to keep track of the humanity of each and every person to give us the courage to love, serve and sacrifice." Cornel West